Inside Out
by kbecks41319
Summary: Meredith had no choice as she felt everything closing in on her, the room suddenly shrinking in on itself and trying to swallow her whole. She held her breath as her feet slapped against the floor, forcing herself to climb the stairs...
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first _ever_ Grey's Anatomy fanfiction that I'm posting. I don't know if it's any good or if I should just throw it in the bag now... I would appreciate reviews to let me know if I should continue or not. On a side note: this is about 2 to 3 months after Izzie left, Derek never became Chief, Mark and Lexie never happened(even though I love them, personally).**

**I do not own, nor am I associated with Grey's Anatomy in any way.**

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><p>Meredith sighed as she looked around her, trying hard to focus on everything going on. It had been a long night shift followed by an even longer morning shift. She was supposed to have gone home but instead she had stuck around. Normal people would have gone home, normal people would hate a double shift but.. She was far from normal. She had been born in this hospital, had been raised in one similar to it after leaving and she had came back. This was home.<p>

And now.. Today.. She was dying in this hospital. She groaned as once again Alex ran straight through her ghost figure, doing as someone had ordered him. She had given up on trying to grab his attention after three failed tries. Everyone was running around quickly trying to think of different ways to help. Most were just in the way, others stood quietly off to the side, waiting and watching. A few feet away and only to her eye, Denny stood in the corner waiting for her to talk.

"Meredith, we don't have all day. You know the drill." His voice was soft, familiar. At his voice, everybody else around them disappeared. There was quiet.

"What's the point in going back, Denny? Everything is a mess. Derek hates me and won't tell me why. Izzie left. Cristina and Alex are.. Well, Cristina and Alex. Lexie's going through stuff with Jackson but she's my sister and I love her so I deal. And.. And.. George." A sob tore through her throat as she stared at Denny. "Where's George? He should be here. George should be here."

"I'm right here, Mer," a voice whispered from behind her.

She turned quickly on the spot and the sob that tore through her moments ago rocked through her body again as she threw herself into his waiting arms. Her face found comfort in his neck as she squeezed her eyes shut tight and focused on nothing but him for a minute.

"Everything got so messed up, George. So, so messed up.."

"I know.. I know." He rubbed his hand in small circles on her lower back, shooting Denny a glare over his friend's head when he cleared his throat. "Mer, I know this is hard but you have to fight. It's not time to leave yet, okay? They all still need you."

"I can't, George. I can't. Please." Her voice hitched in her throat as she clung to him. "Let me stay."

"Meredith Grey, you have to go back."

This voice startled her, sending her jumping as she turned quickly on the spot to lock eyes with none other than Ellis Grey. Her heart thumped as she fisted the material of George's scrubs in her hand, not daring to let go for even a minute.

"Mommy..?" She whispered, her voice lost.

"It's important you go back, Meredith. It's not just you that it will effect if you give up now." The slightest flicker of her eyes gave away her meaning, causing the blonde's hand to move to her stomach.

"No.." Meredith shook her head, turning to George to confirm her mother's meaning. She couldn't be. She couldn't.

"Mer, just don't name her anything that Cristina suggests - she's only going to be joking and your daughter would so hate you if you did that to her." George joked lightly with her, giving her hand a quick squeeze.

"He won't take me back," Meredith murmured.

"No," George shook his head softly. "He won't but-"

"We can't tell her anymore," Denny cut in quickly, giving Meredith an apologetic smile.

"She needs to talk to Mark, though." George threw Denny a look, obviously letting him know that he wasn't about to back down.

"Mark?" Meredith frowned, her gaze being torn away from the bickering men to listen to her mother.

"Meredith, you have to go. You have to go and you have to trust us that it will be alright." Ellis told her quietly, her eyes soft.

"What if I screw it up?" Her voice was scared, on the verge of breaking.

"You won't," a different voice said to her left.

"Susan," Meredith smiled sadly as her eyes went to her. "I'm so sorry about what happened."

"It wasn't your fault, Meredith." She spoke softly, quickly. "But they're right. You have to go back. If not for yourself, go back for everyone else. Lexie still needs a big sister."

"I'll be okay?" This time she's turning to George for answers, soaking in the comfort of him.

"You'll be okay, Mer, I promise." He nodded, leaning over to brush his lips across her cheek gently. "We'll all be watching out for you. For all of you. No more getting into fights with psych patients. They always win, remember that."

"You have to run now, Meredith," Denny told her sternly. "Run and don't stop."

"Go," George whispered as he squeezed her hand and pushed her towards the stairs. "Run, Mer."

Meredith had no choice as she felt everything closing in on her, the room suddenly shrinking in on itself and trying to swallow her whole. She held her breath as her feet slapped against the floor, forcing herself to climb the stairs as quickly as she could. She hoped that everyone was right, she hoped that everything would be okay. As she reached the top of the stairs, a bright white light engulfed her and before she knew it..

She was gasping for breath as her body jolted with the shock, her senses immediately registering the pain she was in. All around her was commotion, noises and smells that were so familiar to her yet she never wanted to be near them again - not like this, at least.

"She's back!" She heard Bailey yell, with what sounded like tears in her voice. Sure enough a moment later there was something tickling the left side of her face before the voice neared her ear. "If you ever do this again, Meredith Grey, I will kick your ass from here to Alaska."

The chuckle that left her made her ribs hurt as she tried to fidget in the bed, large hands holding her still. She forced her eyes open as she heard a few people shuffle out of the room now that they knew she was stable.

"You can't quite move yet, Meredith." Mark spoke calmly from the right side of her, giving her a reassuring smile. "Callie needs to fix your right leg from when you fell cause you apparently landed on it weird and we stopped the bleeding from the cut on the other one. It was deep but Owen managed to get in there and stop it before it got too bad. It seems you tried to break your fall with your left hand and you managed to break it."

"The worst of it came from your body being so exhausted, it just didn't want to get up and go." Richard cut in as he looked at her, his emotions all over his face.

"I didn't want to come back," she whispered, her eyes jumping to Bailey. "George was there."

"Meredith.." The older woman warned, squeezing the girl's shoulder gently.

"I know it's crazy but he was. He was there with Denny and my mom and Susan…" It suddenly hit her and her good hand flew to her stomach, worry flooding her. "Is the baby okay?"

They all looked at her immediately with something close to fear in their eyes, confusion settling in Mark's first.

"You're pregnant?" He asked quietly but at her nod, he jumped up and immediately barked orders out the door for the equipment that they needed.

"How far along are you?" Bailey asked as she moved around to get Meredith more covered up.

Noticing that they had cut her scrubs off of her, she groaned quietly to herself and fought the urge to slam her palm onto her forehead.

"How many people saw me naked today? I just can't get a break. Too many people have saw me naked, Bailey." She mumbled this directly to the short woman beside her, aware of other company.

"We mostly kept everyone else out, Meredith, unless we needed them. They were more worried about you than your state of nakedness."

The blonde could tell that Bailey was holding in her laughter at Meredith's concerns, making her scrunch her face up at her and look around the room. Truth was, she didn't know how far along she was. She hadn't had sex with anyone in a while.. At least, none that she remembered. Her drunken week of fun was still a blur to her, with a few details here and there thrown in from her friends.

"Meredith, how far along are you?" This time the question came from the chief.

"I don-"

"She's probably about two and a half months," Mark's voice cut her off, causing all eyes to go to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Please, please be patient with me. This is the first Grey's story I've ever written. If anybody seems out of character or anything, that's all on me. Oh, mistakes are all on me too. I have no beta.**

**I do not own Grey's Anatomy.**

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><p>Before any questions could be ask, Alex came into the room pulling an ultrasound machine behind him. Oblivious to the tension in the air, he moved beside Meredith and made himself comfortable on a stool as he started the machine up.<p>

"McDreamy finally knock you up, Mer?" The tight smile on his lips showed just how much restraint he was putting in to making light conversation, something the blonde appreciated.

"I.." Her eyes flickered to Mark before settling on Alex again. "I don't think it's Derek's."

"Then who..?" His eyebrow raised slightly as he squeezed the cool gel onto her stomach, ignoring her jump.

"Quit with the 21 questions, Karev, and check on the baby." Mark cut him off, his tone leaving no room for questions.

"Sloan.." Richard's voice was a warning, his brown eyes traveling from the older doctor to Meredith where she was laying on the hospital bed. "Maybe you should leave the room. We can page you when we're done here."

Mark looked between the Chief and Meredith, mentally debating whether or not he was prepared to leave the room. When he saw the way Bailey was staring at him, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair before pushing off of the wall and heading out of the room.

"Page me as soon as he's done, or if anything goes wrong."

Richard followed behind Mark, the door closing behind them both. As soon as he was sure they weren't coming back in, Alex leaned forward to whisper to Meredith.

"Please tell me you didn't officially join the Dirty Mistress club, Mer, cause that.." He shook his head, moving the ultrasound wand over her stomach.

"I don't _remember_, Alex." She sighed before closing her eyes, rubbing at her temple with her good hand.

"Drunken week?"

"Yeah," she grumbled as she turned away from him, looking to Bailey.

"Meredith Grey, you get yourself into some newsworthy situations." The older woman gave her a stern look, her caring eyes throwing off the look completely.

"I don't try," the blonde muttered.

"Look, Mer." Alex motioned towards the monitor with his head, keeping the wand still.

She turned her head quickly, her eyes flickering to the monitor with ease as her chest tightened at the sight and sound of a steady heartbeat. She had been worrying nonstop since she had woken up and remembered, dread flooding her when she thought something had happened to the baby.

"Steady heartbeat. That's good." She focused on her friend, her eyes crinkling. "That's good, right?"

"That's great," he confirmed as he pulled the wand away and cleaned off the wand. Satisfied that it was clean enough, he grabbed a few wipes and handed them over to Meredith. "You'll need an actual appointment with an OB to check on everything else but for now it all looks great."

"Karev, we'll need you to stay with her when Dr. Torres does her thing. I'll have someone bring you a fetal monitor to hook up to her. Any surgeries that you may have been assigned, you just reassigned them to Yang or some other lucky soul." Bailey gave him a no nonsense look, letting him know her word was final.

"Thanks, Mer, you just made me lose three surgeries."

"Don't thank me, thank your niece." She offered with a shrug, a small smile on her lips.

"Niece, huh?" He raised an eyebrow, wiping off a bit of gel that she had missed. "Who says I want to be an uncle?"

"Who says you have a choice?"

"This one of those you're my landlord things? Cause if so, that's low."

"No, this is one of those you love me things." She smirked as the door opened again, this time allowing Callie in.

"Right. Love has nothing to do with this relationship." He messed up her hair a bit, pushing himself off of the stool and moving to the wall.

"Grey, you know how to shake things up, don't you?" Callie gave her a grin as she moved over to look at the x-rays.

"Got to make sure everything's a party, you know." Meredith shrugged, immediately regretting the movement as her senses overloaded with pain. Closing her eyes tightly, she gritted her teeth as she waited the pain out before eyeing Callie. "Give me the good drugs, okay? Don't hold back."

"We're going to have to put you under to reset your wrist, Meredith. You'll be getting the best drugs out there." The Ortho doctor assured her, walking over and giving her a gentle smile. "Have you talked to Mark yet?"

"Torres.." The warnings tones of Bailey interrupted that line of questioning, a quick look making it unnecessary to continue.

"Right. Not the time." Callie simply nodded and turned on her heel, taking in Alex for the first time. "Get her sedated, I'll be back to reset her wrist and put the casts on."

"I'd suggest putting the fetal monitor on there before you sedate her, Karev. I'll have Avery bring it." Bailey made her way to the door, motioning for Callie to follow her out.

As soon as the door closed, Meredith let out a whimper as she grabbed at her ribs. She had been trying her best to ignore the stabbing pains but the longer she tried, the worse it got. Alex was by her side in a minute, gently pressing her ribs and checking her response. When she jerked back quickly, he smirked at her and crossed his arms.

"I think you cracked a few ribs, Mer. Damn. You know how to pick your fights, don't you?"

"She was going to stab another patient," she muttered. "I couldn't just sit back and let her do that. I forget that the smallest people have the biggest surprises in them sometimes."

"This coming from you?" He laughed as he sat down on the stool, merely glancing back when the door opened again and Avery came in with the fetal monitor. "Let Torres know she's going to need to look at her ribs."

"Sure," Jackson muttered before his eyes landed on Meredith. "Just thought you should know, they have a pool going on who the baby's daddy is."

"Of course they do," she groaned loudly as she flopped her head back. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Not a problem," he gave her a grin before heading towards the door. "You should really stop getting into trouble, Grey."

"It's not like I try!" She groaned as the door closed behind him, her hand shooting out to smack Alex's arm. His laughter was more than annoying, even though she knew it was just good fun. When her eyes landed on the door again, her whole body tensed and her fingers tightened their grip on Alex's arm.

"Mer, what's wrong?" His attention turned towards her, glancing briefly at the fingernails digging into his skin.

"Don't let him in here," she mumbled under her breath, her eyes glued on the door.

He turned around to find the source of her discomfort, his own body tensing as he saw just exactly who had her all worked up. Sighing, he gently pried her fingers from his arm and stood up to make his way over to the door quickly. Pulling it open, he stepped outside and closed the door behind him - not allowing the other person entrance.

"Dude, walk away."

"Karev, I am your superior, you do not get to talk to me like that." Derek crossed his arms, looking at him sternly.

"Right now you're not anything to me, except the jerk who hurt my friend. She doesn't want you in there so you need to walk away. Now."

"I didn't do anything! She's the one who whored-"

"Dude. Seriously. If you want to keep that face dreamy, you better walk away."

Their conversation turned into a staring contest, something Meredith found amusing from inside the security of the hospital room. After a few moments Derek admitted defeat and walked away with a disgusted look towards Alex, who simply smirked before entering the room again.

"Alright, lets get that fetal monitor on and get you drugged."


	3. Chapter 3

**I know, it's short. And I know, I took forever updating. My computer crashed and I got lazy. Plus, I found a new love for MerAdd. I'll try to get to the next chapter soon.**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>"McAss!" The nickname echoed through the hallway, causing everyone to stop and turn around and eye Cristina Yang carefully. The man in question stood frozen in spot, his whole body tensing up as her foot steps became louder the closer she got. Before he could turn, a hand connected with the back of his head and sent it flying forward. "I always knew you were a McDouche but I never thought you'd take it this far."<p>

"Yang!" Derek rubbed the back of his head as he regained his balance and turned to look at the woman, fury obvious in his eyes.

"Shepherd!" She mocked him, her hands fisting on her hips as she tilted her head to study him.

"Have you and Karev failed to remember that I am your superior and if I wanted to, I could have you both suspended? Just because I was in a relationship with Meredith does not mean you two can run your mouths at me whenever you feel like it." His arms crossed over his chest, his stance becoming defensive.

"Evil Spawn got to your first? Good. I always knew I liked him." She smirked as she advanced on him, getting in his face. "I can not believe you would do this to her."

"Do what to her? I didn't do anything!"

"You got her pregnant and then dumped her! So much for wanting to be the family-man. What happened? You realized just how crappy her genes are? After all that bullshit about not caring. You're pathetic," she spat the last words out, her temper obviously flying through the roof.

"I didn't get her pregnant," he bit out through clenched teeth. "I didn't even know she was pregnant until just now."

Cristina opened her mouth to respond, only to close it a moment later when words failed her. She stepped back away from him, eyeing him suspiciously, trying to decide if she believed him or not. The want to defend her friend overrode everything else.

"She hasn't slept with anyon-" Immediately her mouth shut tight, her eyes bulging slightly as she took another step away from him. "Shit," she muttered to herself.

The satisfied smirk on the Neurosurgeon's face quickly disappeared as his eyes flickered behind her shoulder, anger taking over his features. Not letting the other get a word out, he pushed passed her and before he knew what was happening his fist was connecting with Mark's face. A sickening crack echoed through the hallway, earning a few collective gasps from the audience that had gathered.

"You son of a bitch," Mark groaned, holding his cheek as he stumbled to keep himself standing. "What the hell was that for?"

"You got her pregnant!" Once again Derek's hand was flying through the air, only to miss when the plastic surgeon took a step to the side. He stumbled himself, not realizing that a fist was coming towards his own face. Another crack and a few more gasps were followed by the dark haired man stumbling to the side as Mark shook his hand.

"Would you two idiots stop?" Alex looked at the two like they were children as he approached, stopping just out of arm's reach from them both. "She wants you."

Derek's face lit up as he threw a smug look in the direction of his old friend, moving to go around Alex - only to be stopped.

"No, not you." The younger doctor shook his head before nodding at Mark. "Him."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long. I have no internet at home, and the characters wouldn't cooperate. As always, I don't own a thing.

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><p>"I don't remember sleeping with him," Meredith muttered to no one in particular, thinking the room was empty.<p>

"Of course you don't," Callie interrupted as she moved about checking on vitals and looking at the x-rays some more. "You were drunk off your ass."

"He didn't walk away," the blond defended herself.

"I'm not saying it's your fault, Meredith. Lord knows Mark should have stopped things. But you had to have known that h-"

The door opened then, causing them both to turn and find themselves faced with the man they were just discussing. Meredith bit her lip as she pulled the thick cover up higher, folding her arms against her chest as Callie looked between them both.

"I'll just.. go. I'll be back in a few to get you, Meredith." She crossed the room quickly, squeezing by Mark and closing the door behind her.

The room was met with silence, neither of the two occupants knowing what to say or where to begin. How did one bring up the fact that they were pregnant with the other's child and had been told by a dead person? It wasn't exactly every day conversation.

"The baby okay?" Mark finally asked, moving to sit next to the bed.

"Alex found the heartbeat," she nodded, not looking in his direction. "I still need to schedule an appointment to have a full check up."

He nodded slowly for a moment as he rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes finding focus on her vitals. "That's good.."

Meredith turned to look at him, her question forgotten as she got a good look at his rapidly bruising face. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Derek," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

"He hit you?" She moved to try to push herself up, whimpering quietly as she sighed and motioned for him to move closer.

"Yang apparently told him you were pregnant." He moved forward obediently, bending down a bit so she could get a better look.

"At least you don't need stitches this time," she murmured as she pressed against the bruising area gently, hiding a smile as he jerked back from her touch. "You should probably put some ice on it, though."

"I'll go find me some in a bit," he promised as he sat back in the chair. "When did you find out?"

"Earlier," she replied vaguely as she tugged the cover up farther. She was freezing for some reason.

"And yet you still jumped in front of a dangerous patient."

"I didn't know when I did that."

"You've been unconscious since then," he frowned slightly, studying her. "Did you hit your head?"

"No, I didn't hit my head." She rolled her eyes before sighing softly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, anyways."

"Try me," he smirked.

"My mom told me." She said seriously, keeping her eyes locked with his as she tried to determine whether or not he would really believe her. She knew it sounded completely crazy; her mother was dead, had been for a while now. How was she even going to explain this one?

"Your mom? The dead one?" He raised his eyebrow at her, rubbing his hands together. "While you were unconscious?"

"Yup," she nodded. "I have conversations with dead people when I get close to dying."

"It sounds like this has happened before," he mused out loud.

"When I drowned, it happened then. That's how I knew my mom had died before anyone told me. I saw her."

Silence swallowed the room as the two stared at each other, Mark obviously debating Meredith's sanity and Meredith debating if she should just lie and say she was kidding. She didn't want to lie to him, though. She didn't want to have to make something up and lie her way around this. She wanted to be able to tell him the truth. Why was that?

"So," he cleared his throat after a few moments. "Your mom told you?"

"It's a girl," she nodded with a smile coming to her face.

"You can't possible know that, you're only two and a half months."

"Want to bet on it?" She smirked, raising her eyebrow as she fidgeted on the spot. Damn hospital beds were so uncomfortable.

"Fifty says it's a boy," he held his hand out for her.

She shook it as she shook her head, "I really hate to take your money.. But I warned you. It's a girl."

The two stared at each other for a moment, realizing that they were making bets about their child. Neither one seemed to mind as Meredith laughed and Mark shook his head, each leaning back in their respective seats.

"I should have told you," he said quietly, his eyes focused on the floor.

Meredith frowned, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she ran her good hand through her hair. She knew they needed to have this talk, needed to figure things out but that didn't mean she wanted to. It would be much easier to forgive him, push it all aside and go on with having the baby.. but was it that easy? She swallowed the breath she had been holding, pulling the side of her mouth up into a smile.

"Yeah, you should have but I'm sure you had a good reason for not telling me."

"I knew Derek and you were fighting, I knew that you were so drunk and upset that you would have slept with anyone at that point.. I knew better, I did. I should have told you no. I should have called Karev or Yang or Little Grey and had them take you home. I should've.. I should've done a lot of things," he murmured the last part to himself, studying his hands as he turned them over in his lap.

"Then why did you?" Her voice caught, making her nose scrunch up. Damn it. She didn't care what his answer was, she didn't care if he said he was drunk too and she was just another warm body to lay down with. She did not care, absolutely did not. This was Mark; just because his baby was growing in her stomach didn't mean a damn thing.

"I-" His response was cut off by the door opening as Callie stepped in, shortly followed by Bailey and Alex, causing both their heads to swing towards the door.

"Sorry, Grey, got to get this show on the road or you'll be bumped until late tomorrow." Callie gave them both an apologetic grin as Alex moved around the women, going over to Meredith and adjusting the fetal monitor as he looked at the printouts.

"We're good here," he told Callie.

"Right," Mark mumbled as he stood up and moved to the side, his eyes finding Meredith's. "We'll finish this when you're done."

"Okay," the blonde murmured as she glanced up at Alex. "Let's get this over with."

"If you need an extra set of hands grab Avery," Bailey told Callie as they unlocked the wheels, starting to move the bed out of the room.

"Don't hurt him, Miranda," Callie warned as they left the room, giving the older doctor a look before glancing briefly at Mark.

"I won't. Much."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** A shorter chapter, yes, but it's needed to reveal some information. As always, I own nothing.

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><p>"What was I supposed to do, Bailey?"<p>

"What were you supposed to do? What were you _supposed _to do?" Bailey pointed her finger in his face, staring up at him as if he had just spit on everything she knew. "You were supposed to be the responsible one! You were supposed to walk away or call her a cab or, hell, call one of the others to come and get her! You were not supposed to jump in bed with her."

"It wasn't that simple!" He stood up a bit straighter, only to slouch back down as her eyes blazed at him. "Everyone in this damn hospital knows how I feel about her.. except her."

"That doesn't mean you sleep with her, Mark. Damn it." The short woman grabbed the clipboard she had come in for, shaking her head as she looked at the floor to take in a short breath. "Torres told me you weren't drunk. You hadn't had a drink all night. You should've walked away."

"I couldn't," he muttered, glancing out the window.

"You slept with Meredith Grey!" Bailey took the clipboard and slapped him upside the arm with it, repeating the action with each word. "Meredith. Freakin'. Grey! You slept with her and got her pregnant. _Manwhore_!"

The door burst opened at that moment revealing a wide eyed Lexie who stopped in her tracks, staring at the two as her mouth dropped open the slightest bit.

"I-I.. Um. Mer-" She cleared her throat, adjusting the bag over her shoulder. "I grabbed Meredith some stuff from the house, Chief said she was in here."

"They took her to fix her wrist and put the casts on," Bailey informed the young woman, her voice low and controlled as she continued to stare at Mark. "She'll be moved to a more permanent room once she's out, ask the nurses."

"Thank you, Dr. Bailey." Lexie started backing out of the room, glancing between the two as she pulled the door close. "You should probably whack him one more good time, I don't think he got the message."

With that, she disappeared out of the room with a grin on her face as the two doctors were left in silence - Bailey staring at Mark and Mark glaring at the door Lexie had just vanished from.

"Ow!" Mark yelped and jumped as Bailey hit him again, this time in the back of the head. "What the hell? Seriously?"

"She is a _child, _Mark. A child. She just got over the mess that was Derek Shepherd, she did not need this." Bailey shook her head, moving across the room and opening the door.

"I can't take it back. I wouldn't take it back." He crossed his arms, staring at her now, his voice determined. "I'd change how everything happened afterwards but I wouldn't take it back."

Bailey sighed, rubbing the crease between her eyebrows as she stopped for a moment before turning around to look at him. "I know you love her, I know you've had feelings for her since coming here after Addison.. but you should've left her alone, Sloan."

"I couldn't," he repeated as his eyes dropped down to the floor again.

"I know," the shorter doctor murmured sadly as she turned and left the room to check on her own patients, leaving him there to his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Finally! I know, I can hear you all thinking it.. I'm thinking it, too. Meredith and Mark didn't want to cooperate with me on this one, guys. Blame them. I hope you all enjoy it :) I don't own anything.

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><p>Meredith had tried getting Alex to go back to the room and save Mark from what was sure to be a brutal conversation with Bailey, had tried to get Callie to send someone in there to break them up.. but neither of them had listened. She even tried to get up, but her ribs made it hard to breathe when she sat up and finally she gave in to the obvious - Mark was having that conversation, whether he wanted it or not.<p>

With great reluctance, she had allowed them to finally sedate her (lightly, she could take a little pain if it meant keeping the baby safe) and Callie had went to work fixing her broken bones. She didn't remember much of the procedure but she knew the basics and she could always look at her chart later.

When they took her to her new room, Lexie had already put some of her stuff out and even grabbed her body pillow from the house.

"Tell Lex thanks when you see her," she told Alex as he disappeared out of the room after hooking her up to a fetal monitor.

"I think Avery has the first shift of looking after you, so he should be here in a bit. I'm sure Mark will be by after he finishes his rounds, too." Callie offered her a smile as she edged towards the door.

Meredith could tell there was something else she wanted to ask, something that had been bothering her for a while now. It was probably the tone in Bailey's voice that had her biting her tongue still. She sighed, resting her hand on her ribs as she bit back a groan; she'd be glad when they healed.

"You can ask, Callie. I won't tell Bailey."

The orthopedic surgeon seemed to be fighting with herself, debating on which question to ask and how to word it. Not that it would matter how politely she put it, Meredith was sure it would sting none the less.

"You really didn't remember sleeping with him?"

"I don't remember much of anything from that week," she sighed. "The only thing I know for sure is that Joe cut me off after the third night and I had to find a new bar. And when I wasn't at the a bar, I was at home with a bottle of tequila in my hand. You know Chief wouldn't let me come into work that week."

"George had just died and Izzie was being a flake," Callie reasoned. "Her leaving pushed you over the metaphorical edge you were standing on."

"You sound like my therapist." She ran her fingers through her stringy hair, pulling the body pillow tighter around her. "By the time Cristina forced me to come to my senses, Derek was pissed at me and Mark couldn't look me in the eye."

"That didn't set off any warning bells?"

"That set off all kinds of bells that I didn't know I even had," Meredith groaned. "I was pissed that he was avoiding me and, in return, I started ignoring Derek. He broke up with me when I started throwing up; I thought it was just my body getting rid of all the tequila but.."

"You had to have known that he was in love with you," Callie frowned as she leaned against the wall, studying the woman in front of her.

"That's what Derek couldn't forgive him for," she muttered as she shook her head. "I thought it was still the Addison thing but he told me it was something else and just wouldn't tell me."

"Derek found out about two months after Addie left," the Latina confirmed. "That's why she left, sort of. She saw that he was falling for you and knew that as long as the both of you were here, she would never know who he was really in love with. He called her a week after Derek found out, so Addison wouldn't hear it from him."

"She must really dislike me," Meredith chuckled weakly.

"Don't worry about Addie, she's dating some SWAT cop."

"I think I'll move to Florida or one of the Carolinas and just be a beach bum. The weather is supposed to be really nice over there and I think I can deal with the hurricanes. I can't get in trouble over there like I can here."

"Trouble would follow you in the shape of Mark Sloan," Callie laughed.

"Not cool, Cal. Not cool." The door had opened without either of them realizing it, Mark standing in the doorway with a crooked smile on his lips.

"Face the facts, Sloan, you're trouble." She patted his shoulder as she squeezed by him, looking back to give Meredith a smile. "I'll be back to check on you after my surgery, I'll let Yang know you're awake."

"Thanks, Callie." Meredith gave a short wave as she moved slightly to the right, trying to get more comfortable. She pulled the body pillow tight to her left side as she watched Mark move over to the chair beside her bed.

"I take it Karev picked out your cast color," Mark smirked as he motioned to her wrist.

She glared down at the bright pink cast, wondering if she could burn a hole through it and get a new one. Knowing that it wouldn't work, she sighed and focused her attention back on the man sitting next to her. "He secretly likes the color."

"Want me to make him wear pink scrubs?"

"As interesting as that might be, no." She shook her head as she itched the top of her right leg. "I hate casts. I broke my arm when I was in middle school and the itching was unbearable. Now I'm stuck in two and I'll be out of work until my leg heals at least."

"Two months of laying around? I'll switch places."

"Chief's going to try and get me to take three months," she grumbled. "If I do that, I'll be almost six months by the time I get back to work and then he'll try to put me on maternity leave shortly after that."

"You're going to keep it?" His eyes were hopeful, his voice soft as if he was afraid of her answer.

"Of course." She didn't even think about it, didn't pause or try to stall with the answer. It was already decided for her, the way she cradled herself and worried about all the crap she had been doing to her body lately. "Why wouldn't I?"

It was a quick flash in his eyes, nothing more as he gave her a smile and shook his head. "I wasn't sure."

"We bet on the kid's gender earlier," she pointed out.

"I didn't know if it was just the excitement of finding out," he defended himself.

"Oh no, I very much intend on having this baby so I can see you dress up in princess clothes and make up in the future." She hadn't meant to say it, really, but the words had just tumbled out and she felt her cheeks burning red hot.

"I look good in anything," he smirked proudly, ignoring the blush on her cheeks and the slip of her words, as they both got quiet and let the background noise of the fetal monitor fill the room.

It was a steady heartbeat, something that calmed Meredith's nerves as she closed her eyes and let the exhaustion take over her body.

"This should be more awkward," she mumbled, hoping it didn't reach his ears.

"Probably so," he laughed as he watched her sink into the bed, all the tension draining out of her body. She was asleep within moments, her chest rising and falling as the fetal monitor assured him the baby was okay. He waited a few more minutes before he reached over to squeeze her good hand, bringing it to his lips to brush a kiss against it. "You're definitely not moving nowhere."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** This is a bit awkward... I own nothing!

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><p>"Mer, Lexie wanted to know if you wanted something besides nasty hospital food or.." Cristina's sentence trailed off as she realized her friend wasn't alone, staring at Mark holding onto the sleeping blonde's hand. "Uh, hi."<p>

"She fell asleep about half an hour ago," he informed her as he let go of Meredith's hand and stood up.

Finding her normal, the dark haired woman closed the door and stood in front of it as she stared the man down. She pointed back to the chair before she crossed her arms and leaned against the door, trapping him in the room.

"Sit, McSteamy, we need to talk."

"I have surgery in twenty minutes," he warned but sat down as directed, knowing it was going to happen sooner or later.

"She was drunk," Cristina started as she glanced towards Meredith. "She was drunk and grieving and you weren't. I know she's a grown woman but you should've said no. You've got these warm and gooey feelings for her and that's great but you should've let her decide with a clear head whether or not to jump into bed with you."

"Bailey's already got on me about this," Mark rubbed his face as he went to stand up, only to be stopped by her holding her hand up.

"That's the past. I can't do much about it," she stepped towards him now and stared down at him in the chair. "But, I swear, if you hurt her or that baby, I will personally make sure you never have sex again."

"Duly noted." He stood up as she stepped back, glancing at Meredith before turning back to her person. "Avery should be in to sit with her soon. When she wakes up, tell her I'll be back after my surgery."

"Sure," she waved him off as she stepped around him to take his seat, propping her feet up on the hospital bed as she got comfortable. She watched as he stared at the blond for a moment before glancing at her and leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. "Man, has he got it bad. Poor McSteamy, you broke him, Meredith."

"Wasn't my fault," the blond muttered as her eyes slowly blinked open and she yawned. "You get loud when you get protective."

"I don't want to have to clean up the mess if he makes one," was all the other offered up as she grabbed the remote and turned the television on.

Choosing to ignore the comment, she eased herself up into a sitting position as she glanced around the room. "What, no food? Just using me for my cable?"

"Lexie said to text her what you want," Cristina responded distractedly as she flipped through the channels, pausing long enough to pull Meredith's cell phone out of the bag in the drawer beside the bed and hand it to her.

"She's going to want me to get some healthy," the dirty blond whined as she slid her phone open and pulled up her sister's number.

"Probably so," her friend laughed as she settled on a channel and turned to look at her. "Just have her bring you ice cream with whatever it is you get; it will help balance it all out."

"You think Thai food will be alright? I don't want to give her an excuse to try that new health food place, cause then there will be a murder."

"If you murder her, your kid will be raised by Mark while you become someone's bitch."

"Shut up," Meredith muttered as she quickly texted her sister. "Thai food and peanut butter ice cream, with sour gummy worms. She just doesn't need to know that I'm sticking the worms in the ice cream."

"Really? Ew, Meredith."

"Are you really watching Spongebob?" The dirty blond tilted her head to the side as she looked up at the television screen, shaking her head as she turned to look at her friend. "You can't hang out with Alex anymore, it's killing your brain cells."

"Evil Spawn didn't introduce me to this," Cristina smirked. "I have a 7-year-old patient that loves the show and he got me to watch it for an hour with him the other day."

"It's not nice to use your patients to watch tv, Cristina." Meredith mockingly scolded her as she moved slightly, frowning when her ribs pinched and she was forced to move again. "If I ever get the idea to interfere with a psych patient again, stop me."

"If you interfere with a psych patient again, we're admitting you."

"I may have to agree with her," Chief said as he pushed the door open, merely glancing at Cristina as she quickly dropped her feet to the floor and sat up.

"Chief," Meredith gave a small smile as she glanced to her friend and back to her boss.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," he answered her unasked question as he walked farther into the room. "And to discuss how long you want to take off."

"I'd rather not," she frowned as she itched her leg. "I could do paperwork or something for you. I don't want to sit at home for two months with nothing to do except go crazy."

"Or get ready for the baby," he pointed out.

"There's not much I'll be able to do at the house until my leg heals," she shrugged and immediately regretted the action.

"We're going to keep you're a few days for observation so we can talk about this when we release you. We'll need to sort out your maternity leave and talk about Sloan." Richard cocked his eyebrow at her, making no other comment about the issue as he gave her foot a soft squeeze. "We'll figure it out."

"Thanks, Chief." She offered up the best smile as she could, waiting for him to leave the room before she whimpered and sank back down into the pillows. "Holy fucking shit."

"Dumbass," Cristina shook her head as she moved to stretch her arms and stand up. "You should try to get more sleep, I have a surgery to get ready for."

"Lucky," Meredith grumbled as she inched down in her bed.

"I didn't tell you to jump in front of a crazy woman," the dark haired woman pointed out as she headed out the door. "Be lazy for me!"

"Will do," the dirty blond laughed as she leaned her head back against the pillow and allowed her eyes to close. Maybe she would take advantage of the situation while she could; it wouldn't hurt anybody.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long to get y'all this! I still don't have internet and my muse ran away... as did this chapter, kind of. Heh. I hope you all enjoy. As always, I don't own a darn thing.

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><p>"Derek's been suspended."<p>

Meredith's eyes flew open as she resisted the urge to sit up, all traces of sleep quickly leaving her as Lexie barged into the room with a bag of food. She cleared her throat, itching behind her ear with a frown on her lips.

"What the hell happened?"

"Uh, well," Lexie lifted the side of her mouth up in a half-hearted smile, setting the food down and moving to the side of the bed. "He went after Mark again like an idiot and Chief said he couldn't afford his head of Neurosurgery running around throwing punches every time it fancied him."

"Is he okay? Mark, I mean." She licked her bottom lip, taking the drink from her sister with a smile. "Derek's a dumb ass for trying to start something again."

"Callie's x-raying his face right now. He told me to tell you that he'll come see you when he's finished." The young brunette pulled the food out of the bag, handing over the ice cream first. "Jackson got pulled into an emergency surgery with Robbins, so that's why he never showed."

"Cristina was here earlier," she assured her sister as she placed the drink down and took the ice cream, grabbing the gummy worms before she could put them away. "Is it all over the hospital?"

"You mean that you're a whore who sleeps with all the Attendings?" Lexie laughed as she crinkled her face up in disgust at Meredith's eating habits. "Yeah, that is definitely all over the hospital."

"Seattle Grace Mercy West really needs to get a new hobby that doesn't involve me," she groaned before taking a huge bite of ice cream.

"Not even going to lie, I won fifty dollars in the bet." The brunette grinned, grabbing a gummy worm and biting the head off. "They wouldn't let me go full in cause we live in the same house."

"You're telling me that the bet over my baby-daddy just bought me lunch?"

"Basically."

Meredith shrugged, licking the spoon as she leaned back and closed her eyes, riding out a wave of pain. She couldn't really blame the younger doctor for going for the easy bet; Lexie had to know that her and Derek hadn't had sex in months. "Who else went for Sloan?"

"Torres and Robbins, Jackson, Cristina, Alex and a handful of the nurses. You'd be surprised at how many people bet on Alex, though." She shook her head, chewing on the gummy. "I think it boosted his ego a little too much."

"That was an easy win for all of you except Jackson, unless you told him that Derek and I haven't slept together in months, and the nurses."

"He just kinda went with my bet," Lexie shrugged as her pager started going off. "Crap."

"Go ahead, I'll probably just go back to sleep when I finish eating." Meredith offered a smile, chewing on a gummy.

"Eat some of the healthy stuff, too," Lexie warned as she stood up and disappeared out the door.

"Yes, mother," the older doctor muttered to the empty room as she finished off the pint of ice cream. "I thought I was the older sister."

"When you get pregnant, that all flies out the window."

Meredith jerked her head up to see none other than Addison Montgomery walking through the door, the ice cream and gummies churning unpleasantly inside her stomach. Whoever had called the redhead needed their ass kicked; they needed it kicked so bad that Meredith was all but tempted to climb out of bed herself and do it.

"Mark called," Addison answered the unasked question as she flashed a smile and closed the door behind her. "Followed by Cal and Richard."

"That's a lot of ass to kick," the dirty blond muttered as she pressed her good hand against her ribs.

"I wouldn't recommend it in the state you're in," the older doctor offered as she sat down in the chair Lexie had vacated minutes ago.

"If someone just points me in the right direction and holds me up, I can do the ass kicking part."

"As much as I think Mark Sloan needs his ass kicked," Addie started as she snitched a gummy from the table. "Maybe that should wait until your leg heals, at least."

"Have you seen him?" She frowned, pushing her hair out of her face. "Lexie said Derek went at him again and that he was getting x-rays."

"The stubborn man that you speak of is currently stitching his own face up and refusing to let anyone else help."

"Sounds about right," she muttered. "Did you see Derek or has Chief made him leave already?"

"He was leaving as I came in," Addison confirmed. "And pissed as hell that I came."

"You're supposed to be on his side," Meredith bit her lip, glancing towards the door and back at the other woman. "Not on the cheating girlfriend and ex-best friend's side."

"I'm not picking sides," she offered. "I'm here to see a patient who is pregnant and needs my help."

"I didn't tell them to call you," she spit out. "I would never.. I mean, it's Mark. I wouldn't do that." She shook her head, itching the side of her face as she glanced around the room.

"Meredith, it's alright. I know you wouldn't have but Mark, Callie and Richard do not have the same problem." The redhead offered up a smile, reaching out to pat the younger woman's hand. "And don't worry about Mark, I've known for a while now."

"Callie told me," she remembered. "I-I really didn't, uh, mean to.."

"You didn't do anything," Addison assured before her face became serious. "I just hope that you're not leading him on, about keeping the baby."

"I'm not," she replied quickly before she glanced away. "I wouldn't get rid of the baby, I _can't_ get rid of her."

"He warned me that you were persistent about it being a girl."

"I just have a feeling," she murmured to herself as the door opened again, forcing her to look up and her lips to form a smile.

"That feeling is going to win me fifty bucks," Mark smirked as Addison stood up, turning to look at the man.

"You bet on the gender of your baby?" Addison's eyebrow shot up, turning to both of them before shaking her head. "It's the hospital. I swear, it ruins everyone."

"And yet you keep coming back for more," he chuckled as he moved to the side of the bed.

"I figure if I keep the visits to a minimum that I won't be affected.. much."

"Good luck with that," Meredith laughed, pressing her hand to her ribs. "Damn it."

"I'll be back later to take a look," Addison promised as her hand rested on the door knob. "I need to find Richard and have a talk with him about ordering me from LA at the drop of a hat…"

Witt that the redhead doctor left the room, closing the door behind her as Meredith shook her head and Mark chuckled, his eyes crinkling with concern as he turned to study Meredith. His face was bruising now, a cut above his left eyebrow and along his right cheekbone.

"Derek's on the list," she muttered.

"The list?"

She glared at him now, remembering how the list came about. "Yes, the list. And you're at the top, mister; bringing Addison in? Seriously, Mark?"


	9. Chapter 9

**It's short and sweet but I wanted to update, hope you enjoy!**

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><p>"She's going to kill me over inviting Addison." He slumped into the cafeteria chair, his forehead banging against the table a moment later. "Ouch. Over inviting Addison, <em>not<em> over sleeping with her while she was drunk as shit and knocking her up. Over inviting damn Addison. I want that on my tombstone, okay?"

"I'm on the list, too, don't come a whining to me." Callie chuckled as she took a bite of her salad, patting her friend on the shoulder before moving her attention back to Addison and Alex across the cafeteria. "She's totally slept with him."

Mark glanced up but only long enough to grunt before slamming his head back to the table. "That is the oldest news ever, Cal."

"But what about the SWAT cop?" She squinted her eyes, frowning for a moment before taking another bite of food. "You know what, no. Don't tell me. I'll get it out of her," she grinned wickedly as her eyes lit up.

"No getting Addie shit-faced until she checks on the pregnant woman that's going to kill me, okay?" He turned his head to the side, just enough to put her in his line of vision, a red mark forming on his forehead already.

"Stop abusing your face and it's a deal," she chuckled before shoving a carrot in his mouth that opened in protest. "Who else is on this list?"

"Chief," he choked out after chewing and swallowing the vegetable. "And apparently Derek now, for my face. By the time she's healed, she's going to have formulated a plan of revenge on all of us and I'm completely terrified. Best served frozen, she said."

"I take it that friendship has long sailed now," she mumbled around a piece of cucumber, eyeing him closely from the corner of her vision.

"It sailed the moment he found out that I had fell for his girlfriend, Cal," he shrugged and rolled his shoulders before sitting up completely and reaching over to snag a crouton. "Not that I blame him. Sleeping with his wife, following them to Seattle and falling for the lusty intern. I'd like to believe I wouldn't throw punches like he does, but I understand his reasoning."

"Grapevine says Chief threatened to fire him," Callie hummed thoughtfully around the straw of her drink while allowing him time to process this. "I don't think it will come to that, though, I see him moving all on his own."

"Mama Shepherd would be thrilled to have him back closer to home, even though she'll probably fly out to Seattle just to knock me around a bit." He shuddered, eyes wide as he straightened even more in his seat.

"Would the pregnant crazy chick keep you from getting knocked around? Or just sit by and encourage it?" She smirked and pushed her tray away, chewing on the end of her straw.

"She would probably join in," Mark huffed out as his eyes roamed the cafeteria with little interest, his mind far away in the hospital room where Meredith was currently sleeping.

"At least she's keeping the baby," the Latina tried to offer up to make him see the glass half full, only feeling him tense beside her. "Or is she?"

"No, no - she is." He nodded, rubbing his face and letting his eyes land on her briefly with a smile. "She's keeping the baby. And she's determined it's a girl."

"But..? There's a but here, I feel it." She squinted her eyes, turning to study him fully as he avoided her eyes.

"Do you think she'll resent the baby? Cause of how everything happened, how she got pregnant.." He shrugged halfheartedly, chewing on the inside of the corner of his mouth as he tried to avoid looking at his friend. "I mean, I should've said no. I should've took her home or called someone. I shouldn't have taken advantage of her while she was drunk and grieving. But, uh.. She doesn't - she won't.. Do you think?"

"Mark, I think this is one of those conversations that you need to have with her," she said calmly as she reached over to place her hand on top of one of his before holding it up to stop him as he started to talk again. "But no, I don't think she's the kind of person who would hold something like that against a child."

"Right, me either." He cleared his throat as he rubbed his hand over his face briefly, forcing a smile to his lips a moment later as he turned to wiggle his eyebrows at her. "So, how was the date with the ever so lovely Doctor Robbins last night?"


End file.
